Mr. Lincoln was much affected. As he rose to leave he
laid his hand on the prisoner s shoulder. "My boy," he said, "you
are not going to be shot to-morrow. I believe you when you tell
me that you could not keep awake. I am going to trust you, and
send you back to your regiment. Now, I want to know what you
intend to pay for all this?" The lad, overcome with gratitude,
could hardly say a word, but crowding down his emotions, managed
to answer that he did not know. He and his people were poor, they
would do what they could. There was his pay, and a little in the
savings bank. They could borrow something by a mortgage on the
farm. Perhaps his comrades would help. If Mr. Lincoln would wait
until pay day possibly they might get together five or six
hundred dollars. Would that be enough? The kindly President shook
his head. "My bill is a great deal more than that," he said. "It
is a very large one. Your friends cannot pay it, nor your family,
nor your farm. There is only one man in the world who can pay it,
and his name is William Scott. If from this day he does his duty
so that when he comes to die he can truly say "I have kept the
promise I gave the President. I have done my duty as a soldier,'
then the debt will be paid." Young Scott went back to his
regiment, and the debt was fully paid a few months later, for he
fell in battle.
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